06-12-2009, 10:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Can You Hear This? The "Mosquito Ring tone" Test
A little off-topic Friday fun for you all...have a great weekend! I think it was 2007 when this "high pitched ring tone" craze kicked off - the idea being that older people couldn't hear high-pitched frequencies, so younger people would put these high-pitched tones on their cell phones and they'd hear when their phone was ringing - or when they got a text message - but their teachers couldn't. These same high-pitched tones would also be used by some businesses in an attempt to drive off younger people who were loitering in front of their establishments. I listened to one of these tones that I wasn't supposed to be able to hear at my age, and I heard it just fine. I knew there was a scientific basis for this, but I figured since I could hear the tone my hearing was "perfect" - I've always gotten perfect hearing scores when I've had my hearing tested. I found a Web site today that shows how wrong I was about being able to hear tones I thought I could! I cranked up my speakers and clicked on the preview buttons for each tone: I can hear the 16khz tone, but I can't hear the 17khz tone or anything higher. I'm 34 years old, so the fact that I can hear the "30 and younger" tone means I have slightly better than normal hearing in terms of high-pitched frequencies (according to this scale at least). What about you? Where does your hearing drop off, and how does that relate to your age - are you better or worse than average? And if your hearing is worse than it should be, what band were you a roadie for in the '80s? ;-)
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06-12-2009, 11:02 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 367
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I'm 56 (57 in August) and can hear 15kHz, but not 16 and higher. So I guess my hearing's pretty good for an old coot. My dog, however, wasn't very happy with me testing those! I think she would have covered her ears if she could!
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XBox 360 S, 16GB iPhone 4S, iPod Classic 160 GB, Dell Inspiron Mini 1018; Macs: Mac Mini 2.4 GHz 6 GB RAM; Macbook 2.0 GHz 3 GB RAM; MacBook Air 11", 24" Cinema Display
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06-12-2009, 11:45 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 167
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I don't know...I'm 19 and I can't hear anything at 17khz and higher...lol. I'm doubting the existence of any sound in those. Haha. Although my 8 year old sisters claim they can hear something up until 20khz, I'm not completely sure if they are distinguishing between the actual "buzz" and the "pop" at the start and end of the tracks.
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06-12-2009, 11:49 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,053
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I'm 28 and can hear everything except the 22 kHz but I've always had rather sensitive hearing.
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06-13-2009, 12:29 AM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,503
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*sigh* I'm getting old. I can hear 18khz if I lean forward, but the only really audible last tone is the 17.4khz one.
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Baka. Soku. Zan. - The justice behind the dysORDer.
Last edited by Lee Yuan Sheng; 06-13-2009 at 12:32 AM..
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06-13-2009, 12:55 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 135
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At 62, I can easily hear the 12khz, but not the 14khz. So I connected up the wave generator at work to an analog amp w/speakers, and I max out approx 13.1khz.
That doesn't bother me that much for two reasons:
(1) I've played bass guitar since I was 14, and only cared about the low notes.
(2) I don't have to hear the kids' cellphones going off all the time (if they get the mosquito ringtone -- which I strongly encouraqe) 
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06-13-2009, 02:47 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,291
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I'm 36 and I dropped of somewhere between the 16 and 17 mark. So better than average. Actually impressive considering the abuse I gave my ears in my late teens.
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06-13-2009, 03:05 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 524
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crimsonsky
I'm 56 (57 in August) and can hear 15kHz, but not 16 and higher. So I guess my hearing's pretty good for an old coot. My dog, however, wasn't very happy with me testing those! I think she would have covered her ears if she could!
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I was 55 in January - I can clearly hear the 15kHz signal and just hear the 16kHz sound (above the background noise of my PC that is!) - so I have the ears of a 30 year old - just wish the rest of me wasn't the age of a 60 year old!
;-)
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Regards
Griph
iPhone 4 32GB Jailbroken and iPad 3G 64GB .
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06-13-2009, 03:28 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 87
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I'm 39. I can hear the 18khz if I put my ear up to the speaker. But at normal sitting distance, I can honestly say I can only hear 17khz and the 17.4 only if I turn off everything but my computer.
I "try" to take care of my hearing. Back when I was younger (17ish) when car audio just started taking off, I was one of the few that listened to the quality not the loudness. Never listened to load music with the windows up, etc. I guess it paid off.
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06-13-2009, 04:39 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 30
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Hmmm after 14 years in the Fire Service, with all of the sirens, chainsaws, yelling and other loud noises, I'm only able to hear the 10khz one on my speakers. Maybe it's my hearing, maybe it's the speakers, but I'm only 31 so... who knows.
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